March STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Mid-Month Inspiration

As usual the weeks have just flown by and we are already in mid-March. So we are popping in with a mid-month inspiration post from the fantastic STAMPlorations CAS team to hopefully inspire you to create something sky blue for our March CAS challenge.

We just came back from a week's skiing holiday and when we got home, it felt like spring. The daffodils are in full bloom as is the apricot tree. So I thought it would be perfect timing to get out the Framed Solitary Daffodil which I stamped using Versafine onto watercolour card and painted with Gansai Tambi watercolours. I die cut the first part of the sentiment using the Happy Word Die and stamped and fussy cut the word Easter using Sketchy Alphabet. Before adhering everything in place, I splattered some watercolours on a white card base to create some interest in the background as well. I really like how the colour combo turned out, I particularly love that stunning vibrant green in the Gansai Tambi palette.

Card: 250 gsm white smooth card, scrap of yellow card, scrap of blue card, 300 gsm Daler&Rowney Watercolour paper

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours

Stamps: STAMPlorations Framed Solitary Daffodil, Sketchy Alphabet

Dies: CUTplorations Happy Word Die

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes. If you have any questions or problems, just let me know!

More Lilies for Easter

Finally we are coming to the end of my series of Easter cards using the Stampin' Up stamp set Remarkable You and watercolours. The two other cards I made are here and here. It's funny that I ended up making so many Easter cards as I usually don't send any at all. Oh well, I guess as carmakers we take any opportunity we get, right?

I started by stamping onto watercolour paper, then colouring with Tim Holtz distress markers and a watercolour brush, using light colours only wanting to enhance the image a little but not overwhelm the simple beauty of the strong lines of the flowers. I did make a bit of boo-boo with my colouring, but I'm just saying it makes the flowers unique and with a hand-made look. It was deliberate, I'm sure. I die cut the panel, and die cut the happy for the sentiment from a leftover scrap of card I coloured with Distress Paints for some other project which never got made. Last, I stamped the second part of the sentiment from a Lawn Fawn set and added a few adhesive gems for that final little extra touch.

I'm linking up with the following challenges:
Amusing Challenges - Easter
Glitter N' Sparkle - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Easter
Sweet Stampin' - Easter
Addicted to CAS - Delicate
Crafty Cardmakers - Easter

Card: 250 gsm white card, 300 gsm watercolour paper, a scrap of watercolour card I coloured with Tim Holtz distress paints
Stamps: Stampin' Up Remarkable You, Lawn Fawn Happy Everything
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Markers Fossilized Amber, Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass, Twisted Citron and Weathered Wood
Other: Stampin' Up Hello You dies, Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies

Another Easter watercolour card

Happy Saturday, peeps!! I can't believe it's been a week since I have spent any time in the craft room. Well, technically that's not true, I spent quite a bit of time in the craft room both Wednesday and Thursday evening but that time was spent assembling flat pack furniture, not doing any crafting. I have finally executed part B of the great craft room plan and bough myself a new desk. Those chests of drawers took some assembling, and very annoyingly one screw was missing from one of the flat packs. However, very luckily my Culinary Consultant discovered that one of the screws in my old desk which I was taking apart to make room for the new desk had a screw that was just the right size, so I was able to finish my building frenzy and now have a luxuriously large crafting table. And just look at all that storage space in the drawers, I can have so much more stuff right at the tip of my fingers while crafting! Sadly it still looks quite desolate, but in time I'm sure that will change.

Today I'm showing you my second Easter card in my watercolour Easter card series I made using Stampin' Up Remarkable You - the first one with Calla lilies is here. I simply stamped the flower in Staz-On Jet Black Ink and coloured with my Gansai Tambi watercolours, adding some glitter with a Wink of Stella pen. Last, I stamped the sentiment using Lawn Fawn Violet's ABC. Perfect one layer card for sending (I have learned that it's very expensive to add embellishments on cards going abroad - just one rhinestone can push it past the limit of maximum thickness and all of a sudden the postage goes up 50%).

I'm linking up with the following challenges:
Just Add Ink - Just add E (Easter)
The Card Concept - Inspiration Image (I chose to go with the Pink and the Eater theme, but also the blue around the flower is inspired by the straw around the eggs in the basket)
The Friday Mashup - This time I chose to only go with the Easter theme, and I'm also very sad to see that this is the last ever Friday Mashup so thank you for all the inspiration over the years!
Brown Sugar - Spring
In The Pink - Spring flowers in pink 

Card: 300 gsm white textured card
Stamps: Stampin' Up Remarkable You, Lawn Fawn Violet's ABC
Ink: Tsukineko Staz-On Jet Black and Memento Tuxedo Black, colouring with Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours
Other: Wink of Stella pen

Easter Calla lilies

I was working out in the greenhouse on the weekend, and after turning the soil over for about a minute, I was sweating all over. That is a clear sign that spring must be on it's way. It was lovely to feel the sun, even though it was only warm inside the greenhouse - outside I still had to put my jacket back on. But it was lovely to enjoy a bright and sunny day, and I think my cheeks caught a few rays of sun as well, they feel nice and warm. 

Another thing that's quickly speeding towards us is the chocoholic holiday that is elsewhere known as Easter. I'm not big on sending Easter cards, but happy to use the excuse to create some flower themed cards. This particular one has a greeting in Finnish, so you will just have to take my word for it, but I promise it says Happy Easter in Finnish. I used the lovely Calla lilies from Stampin' Up set Remarkable You and coloured with my Gansai Tambi watercolours. All stamped and coloured in one single layer using nothing but two stamp sets and watercolours. It doesn't get much more clean and simple that that.

I'm linking up with the following challenges:

AAA Challenges - Easter

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Add a Little Bit O'Green

Allsorts - Spring is in the Air

My Time to Craft - Flowers 

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - Anything Goes with twist Easter

The Artistic Stamper Creative Challenge - Springtime

Card: 300 gsm watercolour card

Stamps: Stampin' Up Remarkable You, Lawn Fawn Violet's ABC

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Staz-On Jet Black and Memento Tuxedo Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours

Hoppy Easter from the Crazy Birds

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I have had a very special guest stay with me. Said special guest, who happens to be my favourite sister (just to make clear, she is also my only sister, so I'm not playing any favourites here), invited me to go to dragged me kicking and screaming to the gym first thing Saturday morning. As I haven't been to the gym in the last month three months I'm not able to move a muscle at the moment. Just sitting down or standing up is agony. Is this what it feels like to get older? Just a simple gym class will render you immobile... Of course the solution would be to go back there regularly, but it just seems like so much work! And cuts off the crafty time, and we wouldn't want that now would we?

Anyhow, we did have some shared crafty time together which was great fun. I made a Easter card which was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, although I used birds instead of squares. I was also inspired by the colours over at ColourQ. I also think my little birds-disguised-as-bunnies go with the theme of "Laugh" over at CASology, the Spring/Easter theme over at Time Out (where this will be my second entry for the challenge) and the Hoppy Easter theme over at Creative Corner Challenges.

The cute card my Sis made for her friend.

Card: 300 gsm textured card, 190 gsm watercolour paper
Stamps: Tim Holtz Bird Crazy&Crazy Things and matching dies, Lawn Fawn Happy Everything
Ink: Versamark Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Calypso Coral, Pacific Point, Coastal Cabana and Summer Starfruit
Other: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka Mon Amie DSP

One last Easter card

It's been the most ordinary Saturday. We are so set in our routines - we wake up, I have a breakfast while catching up on blogs and then craft for a few hours. We set out to the grocery store, and often also pop to the pet store for some food for the scaly babies. When we get back I make something quick and easy for lunch, which we enjoy while watching something random on the TV. Then the Culinary Consultant settles down to "watch" TV, i.e. taking a nap, while I blog or go back to crafting. In fact, my typing may have just woken him up from his nap... Yep, definitely awake now. And soon, it's time to start preparing dinner, and there is some cleaning that needs doing as well, but not before we finish watching Over the Hedge. I love lazy Saturdays!

This is the card I made this morning. There is a really interesting challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. It's about visiting the Kool Kitty blog and getting inspired by Nat's gorgeous creations. I always love finding a new blog to follow. So inspired by Nat's style, I created my last Easter card. I was also inspired by the sketch over at Viva la Verve, the colour combo over at Color Throwdown and the Easter-y inspiration photo over at Just Us Girls. I'm also linking up with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

For the background I masked some of the Irresistibly Yours paper with Washi tape, and inked using Bundled Sage ink. I die cut the foreground rectangle using stitched dies and the Lawn Fawn Let's Polka papers. I stamped the bunnies and easter eggs and coloured using Copics. Last, I die cut the "Happy" and stamped part of an Easter sentiment onto the banner.

Card: 300 gsm white card
Paper: Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours, Lawn Fawn Let's Polka
Stamps: Paper Smooches A Little Lovin, Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Personal Impressions Easter Set 1
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Bundled Stage, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Stampin' Up Hello you dies, Banner punch

Spring bunnies

Still needed another Easter card. I think I should have most of them done by now, or maybe one or two more, not quite sure. What I am sure of is that my next card will not be an Easter card, as much as I love the adorable bunnies and easter eggs, there's only so much a girl can take. However, that does remind me of chocolate eggs, there is no limit to how many of those a girl can take! 

Anyhow, for todays' card I used an uber-cute bunny digi from Bugaboo. I coloured the bunny bunch using Copics. I used my new, but already much beloved Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle dies to cut the panels. I used my one and only Easter sentiment, note to self - get another one before Easter next year... The layout for my card is inspired by the sketch over at RetroSketches, although I chose to flip it onto it's side. I'm also playing Bingo over at Catch the Bug with Spring/Easter image, player's choice (faux stitching) and die cuts. I'm also linking up over at Creative Card Crew where the theme is Easter Critters, Fan-tastic Tuesday where the theme is Anything Goes with a twist - Easter card and Crafty Cardmakers and more... where the theme is Spring has Sprung.

Card: Stampin' Up Very Vanilla card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Personal Impressions Easter Set 1, Bugaboo digi Spring Bunnies

Colouring: Copics

Ink: Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Dovecraft Back to Basics III

Other: Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle dies

Easter bunny basket

The Easter cards continue. Today's card was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I used a digi from Stitchy Bear I won in a challenge. I coloured the image using Copics and die cut it with a stitched die from Lawn Fawn. The DSP is from Stampin' Up. I didn't have an Easter sentiment that would fit on the card, so I decided to only stamp the sentiment on the inside. 

I'm also linking up over at One Stitch at a Time where the theme is Nature, Challenge Up Your Life "Easter", Fantasy Stampers "Spring is in the Air" and Simply Create Too where the challenge is Easter or Bunnies.

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm Three Shades of Blue, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamp: Easter Basket from Stitchy Bear, Personal Impressions Easter Set 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

Colouring: Copics

Paper: Stampin' Up Birds of a Feather

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched circle dies, Stampin' Up Decorative Label punch, Banner punch

More pastel Easter

Looks like my theme for this year's Easter cards are pastel colours and Distress ink backgrounds. For Grandma's card, I used an adorable Easter digi from Bugaboo stamps, which I coloured with Copics. I created the background by embossing resist, I stamped the ornate Easter egg and heat embossed with clear powder before inking with just three colours, yellow, turquoise and pink. Where the colours overlap they create such wonderful, vibrant greens, purples and oranges as well, so it looks like there was much more colours used. This is such a great tip especially if you are new to crafting and haven't built up a big stash yet, by choosing smartly you can get so much more out of your stash. I die cut the image and background vellum using Lawn Fawn dies, and printed the sentiment as I have a very limited supply of Finnish sentiments (my Grandma doesn't speak a word of any other language than Finnish). 

The card was inspired by the sketch over at STAMPlorations. I was also inspired by the wonderful inspiration board over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. I'm also playing along with the Catch the Bug March Bingo Challenge (my Bingo is Spring/Easter Image, Player's Choice = vellum and Die Cut), Addicted to Stamps where Anything Goes, Just Add Ink "Eggs or Ovals", Shopping Our Stash "Make your own background" and Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers "E is for Easter".

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Inspiration Board

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum
Stamps: Personal Impressions Easter Set 1, Bugaboo Scene It Easter
Colouring: Copics of many colours (I might have forgotten to make a note of which ones I used, but it was pretty much all Copics I own)
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz disterss ink Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade
Other: Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder, Lawn Fawn Stitched Journal card die, Stitched Rectangle dies

It's nearly chocoholiday!

I had a look at the calendar today. Not just a glance, I mean a proper look and I made an effort to engage my brain at the same time. This was a big effort for me, admittedly, but I came to the rather scary realisation that Chocolholiday (in some circles also known as Bunnyday, Chich-o-holiday or even Easter) is just around the corner. As in, a few weeks away! After Christmas it felt like it would be an eternity until Easter (aka the next break from work), and now it's almost upon us. I have spoiled myself by taking a day of annual leave each side of Easter making it a leisurely six day break with a three day work week on each side. I can't wait! I will spend the time in my craft room, chocolate bunnies at my side.

Of course chocoholiday means some chocoholiday cards are in order. Today's card was born inside my head while stuck in traffic yet again. Getting off the hospital site in 5 pm traffic is such a nightmare. And there are plans for new buildings (including relocation of another hospital to the site) with thousands of new jobs to appear on site over the years to come which will mean even more imaginary crafty time for me. Obviously the good thing of congestion traffic is that as long as I remember the current challenges that are out there, I can pre-design the cards in my head while stuck in traffic, and then it's a quick business of just putting them together once I'm actually in my craft room for real. Alternatively, I could take some stamps and markers in the car and sit there colouring away while waiting to move along. Oh well, for the safety of myself and others I may have to stick to imaginary crafting in the car. 

Anyhow, the inspiration for today's card was the Distress challenge over at Lawn Fawn, along with the inspiration image over at Curtain Call and the inspiration board over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I am also linking up over at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is Animals, Creative Card Crew "Easter Critters", Artistic Inspirations Challenge "Anything goes with a twist of Easter" and Clear it Out challenge where the theme this week is Easter and stash item is pastel things (pastel distress inks, markers and cardstock).

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday inspiration board

I only have one proper Easter stamp set, and I have already used it for the last two years, so I wanted to change things up a bit so I went for non-Easter stamps. I made a mask for inking the egg using yellow, blue and pink distress ink. I love how the colours mix together to give greens and purples where the colours overlap. Then I stamped the bunny, birds and easter eggs and coloured them using watercolours and distress ink before fussy cutting them. Last, I stamped the sentiment in black ink and matted everything onto yellow card. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft Three Shades of Yellow 160 gsm card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Critters on the Savanna, Critters in the Arctic, Personal Impressions Easter 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress inks Squeezed Lemonade, Picked Raspberry, Salted Ocean, Tim Holtz Distress markers in Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn, Salted Ocean, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Pumice Stone

First Easter card

Today is both a quick post and a quick card, as I spent most of my crafting time doing something a bit different for the next Crafts Galore Encore challenge which goes live on the first of March. I'm so excited to show it. Meanwhile, there is still time to participate in the current challenge, which is "Use a stamp or digi". 

After that shameless plug, onto today's card. With Christmas and Valentine's over and done with, the next cardmaker's main event is Easter. And the spring colours over at Color Throwdown were perfect for a spring card, and along with inspiration from the Stampin' Royalty inspiration pic and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches I came up with this. I'm also linking up at Graph It Colour challenge where the theme is Spring/Green and Cute Card Thursday where the challenge is Floral Delight.

Card: 300 gsm white card, Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Stampin' Up So Very Grateful, Personal Impressions Easter Set 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up Old Olive

Colouring: Stampin' Up Blendabilities Calypso Coral and Old Olive

Other: Stampin' Up Hello You thinlits